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December 19, 2011

DAL PALAK RECIPE

I tried this recipe from Mrs. Mallika badrinath’s kurma book. It’s a nice combination for roti.I made slight changes in the actual recipe according to our taste buds.I googled so many recipes before trying this one but i found most of the recipes used toor dal / moong dal . I used masoor dal as mentioned in the cookbook.Check out the amazing health benefits of masoor dal in kitchen clinic section. U’ll surely try this recipe .INGREDIENTS

Masoor dal – 1/4 cup

Palak / Pasalai keerai – 2 bunches (hope u all the know the size we get in india) (roughly 2-3 cups after chopping)

Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp

Salt and water – As needed,

To grind

Green chilly – 2 –3 nos

Ginger – 1 inch piece

To temper

Cinnamon – 1 small piece

Cloves – 2 nos

Methi seeds – 1/4 tsp

Jeera – 1/2 tsp

Red chilly – 1 no (pinched into two)

Garlic cloves – 5 nos (chopped finely)

Big onion – 1 no (chopped)

Tomato – 2 nos (-do-)

Curry leaves – a few

METHOD

Pressure cook masoor dal and palak with turmeric powder for 2 –3 whistles. The dal should be mushy.

Grind the ingredients given under “grind” to make a smooth paste by adding required water.

Now heat a kadai and temper all the items given above in the same order.

Add onions and tomatoes and saute till tomato turns mushy.

Add the ground masala and saute well for few mins.

Then add the cooked masoor dal & palak mixture and add the required water .

Allow it to boil well for few minutes.

Serve with roti.!!
Note: If u want to serve this for rice , just omit the cinnamon & cloves and try the same.

KITCHEN CLINIC

MASOOR DAL
Masoor daal is used in every household to make curries or sambar. It is a very common lentil and easily available as well. Masoor daal cooks very fast and does not need any kind of soaking before cooking it. Even tough people may treat it asa simple lentil; it has many properties which are good for health. People who are purevegetarians can eat this lentil everyday. They will get the same amount of strength that non-vegetarian people have.
Many times we see that people complain about having less blood in their body. Doctors recommend some medicines which will increase the blood and red blood cells in the body for such people. Instead of eating those medicines such a person can have curry made of masoor dal twice a week and they would never complain of less blood. This lentil is good as a remedy when a person is facing dysentery problems. Masoor daal is good for the excretory system and helps keeping it clean. It is good for people facing illnesses due to impure blood.
Masoor daal reduces the growth of cough in the lungs and helps reduce acidity as well. Soup made of this lentil is given to a patient suffering from fever. It will give strength to the body of the patient as well as keep the blood pure. People who have piles and bleed as lot during excretion should definitely have masoor daal. It will help reduce this problem.
Powder made from masoor dal should be used instead of soap for infants and children. This helps restore the moisture in the skin of children. It brings a glow to skin and prevents it from cracking in the winter season. It is used as a face pack when people have very oily skin. It reduces the oil produced from the skin and helps reduce acne and pimples. It also prevents itching of skin.
Our daily diet can include a bowl of lentil soup everyday. This will increase the protein content in our body and make us healthy and fit. Masoor dal will also help increase the digestion rate. Many Indian recipes are made using masoor dal.